DEUT44 ... the Torah and, even more, the later rabbinic tradition spell out in very specific terms the morals God requires of us. Although this last point is the subject of debate among Jewish thinkers, I am among those who maintain that the inherent morality of God requires rabbis in each generation to apply the law with moral norms in mind. This requires some explanation. Deuteronomy 17:8-13 says that when a Jew has a question about God's law, he or she should go to the judge of the time and obey that person's instructions. That passage established the authority of human judges in each generation to interpret and apply God's law. Because the Torah, unlike the American Constitution, specifically forbids amendment in Deuteronomy 4:2 and 13:1, the Rabbis used their judicial power expansively to establish Jewish law to deal with new circumstances and remain relevant through time. In this process, I contend, rabbis from the time of the Mishnah to our own era have been properly and importantly influenced by the understanding of God as morally good, for that requires that they interpret God's law in ways they construe to be moral. That is, Jewish theology has, and should have, a direct effect on Jewish law. The extent to which that is true, if it is at all, and how moral concerns should enter into legal debates are both matters of considerable debate among contemporary rabbis and Jews generally. I maintain that Jewish belief in a moral God has an important role to play in shaping the law and in motivating us to live by its demands.